Monday, September 15, 2008

In what feels like a neat little twist of personal synchronicity, today is the day I turned in Beanworld Holiday Special to Diana Schutz, my long-time friend and my new-time editor, at Dark Horse Comics

It's a brand new Beanworld story, in spiffy four color. It's called "Every Cutie Deserves A Toy." It highlights the adventures of the Pod'l'pool Cuties, Boom'r Band, Beanish, and Dreamishness.

Yes, Professor Garbanzo, Mr. Spook, Chow Sol'jers and Hoi-Polloi are in it too, but it really is an off-beat tale that shows the origin of the "Beanworld Action Effigies" first spotted in TOTB #21.(Shown at left)

So what is the twist of synchronicity?Well, today is also the exact one year anniversary of the day I parted company with the McFarlane empire.

I really didn't know what was going to happen next, but I was quite sure of one thing, after a decade and a half of managing the business of other artists , my focus was now going to revolve around my own creativity. It was time to get back to the the thing I was born to do.Beanworld.

Beanworld has found a happy home at Dark Horse.

They "get" Beanworld there and are excited to be bringing Beanworld to the 21st century comic book reading audience.

We all think the world is ready for Beanworld in a way that it wasn't in the '80s, when it was considered to be a bit ahead of its time.

I'm ready.

Dark Horse is ready.

I know the dedicated, loyal fans who make up the "Beanworld community " have been ready for a long, long time.

So let's all shout a hearty "Hoo-Hoo HA & a Hoka-Hoka HEY!" and see if we can get the world totally "leguminized" and persuade them to visit us in the "weird fantasy dimension operating under its own rules and laws!"

And here is how it can start.The solicitations for two Beanworld projects now in the pipeline.

Bug your friendly neighborhood comic book retailer to order these projects and make sure you ask for them at your favorite bookstore.

BEANWORLD HOLIDAY SPECIAL

Larry Marder (W/A)

FC, 24pg, One-shot, $3.50

On sale Dec 17

The first new Beanworld story in print in over a decade, the Beanworld Holiday Special is the perfect introduction to Larry Marder’s inimitable creation!

As enjoyable for children as it is enlightening for adults, Beanworld is a grand adventure that explores social dynamics, culture creation, and ecological networks—all in great fun! Take a tour of this magical world, from Proffy’s Fix-It Shop to a Fabulous Look-See Show, in this issue that introduces toys to the baby Cuties and plunges readers into one of the most original and brilliant comic-book universes ever created!

You’ve never seen anything like it—unless you’re a longtime fan of Marder’s, in which case you’ll be thrilled by the return of this wonderful and peculiar comic-book experience!

“Larry Marder’s Beanworld is a vegetarian update on Krazy Kat with a world and lingo unto itself.” — Smithsonian Studies of American Art

“One doesn’t read Beanworld at all, one lives it. Beanworld draws you into its world and plays out in your mind. This is a rare feat in any medium, and a treasure in comics.” — Feature Magazine

LARRY MARDER’S BEANWORLD BOOK 1: WAHOOLAZUMA!

Larry Marder (W/A)

b&w, 272pg, HC, 6” x 9”, $19.95

On sale Feb 4 ‘09,

Beanworld is a peculiar fantasy that operates under its own rules and laws. Series creator Larry Marder says, “Beanworld is about the affinity of life. It’s like A Bug’s Life meets Mutts, as told by Dr. Seuss and Joseph Campbell.” Meet Mr. Spook, Professor Garbanzo, Beanish, and the Chow Sol’jer Army as they experience adventures that prove, whether friends or adversaries, we all ultimately depend on each other for survival. Beanworld reflects deep truths about our world, including themes of ecology, advertising, culture, and art, making the experiences of these fanciful creatures feel as true, funny, moving, and relatable as anything in our own reality.

Rescanned from the original artwork, this deluxe hardcover collects the long-out-of-print first nine issues of the original acclaimed comic-book series in an affordable single volume for the first time!

3 comments:

Keith Logan
said...

Great news! One surprising element (for me) was that the special is full colour. I thought you going back to the b&w route. Was this a decision about maybe attracting new readers?Any which way, lots of us are ecstatic about this news. Yay!